A Sweet Reunion
by Pupcake125
Summary: Saying good-bye is bitter and never easy. Meeting again, however, can be as sweet as candy.


**Hello again! Made another IchiRukia story! I've caught myself in a boo-boo. I've been forgetting to mention that I don't own Bleach. **

** I DO NOT OWN BLEACH.**

** Okay, that's better! This story is a cute little fluff of little Ichigo meeting a little Rukia! Enjoy!**

* * *

The first day of school was stressful for everyone. Especially for five-year-olds. It's their official first day of the rest of the next twelve years of school. It's a very traumatic situation. It went from spending hours upon hours attached to mom's hip, jumping from cushion to cushion avoiding the imaginary lava that had engulfed the entire home, and watching early morning cartoons. Now it was being thrown into a strange new world fill with strange new people. Not something a certain little boy was up for.

"But Mom, I don't wanna go!" little Ichigo Kurosaki whined as his mother led him to the building of his new elementary school. His mother only smiled at him as she held his hand.

"Now, Ichigo. Where was that enthusiasm that I saw yesterday when you were packing your book bag?" she asked sweetly. Ichigo blushed and looked away.

"I changed my mind!" he whined. His mother only chuckled.

"Trust me, Ichigo, you'll have fun in Kindergarten. You'll make new friends, learn new things, and a whole lot more." his mother said sweetly. Ichigo shook his head.

"I don't care! I don't want to go. Please don't make me go, Mommy." Ichigo begged. His mother bent down as best as she could with her bulging stomach to Ichigo's level and smiled at him.

"Ichigo, I promise you'll be just fine here. I wouldn't leave you somewhere I thought was dangerous, would I?" she asked him. Ichigo looked to the ground, fidgeting on his feet.

"No..." he muttered. "You're not going to leave me here for the twins, are you?" he asked innocently as he looked up at her with teary eyes. His mother chuckled.

"Of course not, silly," she kissed his forehead. "I could never leave you anywhere. You're my first-born, remember? The first-born is very important. I don't know what I'd do without you." she said. Ichigo sniffled.

"Okay..." he mumbled and he allowed his mother to lead him into the building. Upon entering, Ichigo looked around the big hallway. He had never seen such a big building before. It was like an endless path of doors and strange voices. Ichigo clung to his mother's hand tighter. His parents always taught him not to talk or go near strangers, so why is she dumping him here with a bunch of people not even she knew? Adults don't make sense to him sometimes.

Ichigo's mother led him to a door at the end of the hall. It was decorated with different paper animals and golden stars with different names on them. Ichigo couldn't count all that high, but he did count ten of them. The door opened and a woman appeared with a bright smile.

"Masaki?" the teacher said and Ichigo's mother nodded. The teacher then looked down to Ichigo and smiled. Ichigo frowned and hid behind his mother.

"He's shy, but very sweet." Masaki said. The teacher nodded.

"I've heard." she bent down to look at Ichigo and he peeked behind his mother's leg. "Hello, Ichigo. I'm your new teacher. It's nice to meet you." she held out her hand and Ichigo only stared at it.

"Well?" Masaki said. Ichigo looked up at her. "Aren't you going to say hello, Ichigo?" she asked. Ichigo furrowed his eyebrows and shook his head. Masaki and the teacher laughed. "He'll get used to you, it'll just take time." Masaki said with the same sweet smile.

"Don't worry. All of my children were like this. He'll fit in just great." she said. Masaki let go of Ichigo's hand and looked down at him.

"I'll pick you up at the end of the day, Ichigo." Masaki said. Ichigo looked as if his whole world was crashing. The end of the day? The END of the day?! Before Ichigo could protest, the teacher took his hand into hers.

"Come along, Ichigo. Your classmates are waiting for you." she said. Ichigo gave an apprehensive look to his mother, but she only smiled at him. With a deep breath, Ichigo took his teacher's hand.

"I'm the important first-born." he said. "I can do it." he said to himself. The women laughed.

"Bye, Ichigo. Wait for me, okay?" Masaki waved before walking off. Ichigo waved depressingly before turning around himself and entering the classroom. He saw a number of kids running around, playing with toys, snacking on fruit at the small tables, drawing on the chalkboard with colorful chalk and chatting amongst themselves. A couple of kids were swooning over the two guinea pigs in a glass cage on the huge desk by the window. It was overwhelming for him. He wanted to go home.

"Why don't you go accompany yourself before class starts?" the teacher asked him. Ichigo only gave her a frightened look and nodded. She let go of his hand and walked over to her desk to shuffle some papers, leaving Ichigo alone in the middle of the room with other screaming kids.

Ichigo decided that, instead of going up and making new friends, he would sit in the corner of the room, his knees to his chest as he anxiously looked upon the children playing. He wondered how long it'll be until his mom comes back. Why did he agree to come here? It wasn't fun, it was terrifying! Why couldn't he have stayed home with his dad and help with the clinic? All he knew was that he wanted to go home. He thinks he knows his way home from here, but if he leaves he'll-

"Hi, there." a voice came and Ichigo looked up, almost screaming at how close the child's face was to his.

"U-uh, hi..." Ichigo answered quietly. The child, a little girl no older than him, smiled at him and backed away. She was dressed in an elegant pink dress with white lace and a red sash tied to her waist with a bow finishing off in the back.

"We're in the same class!" she said happily, her short black hair being held back by bunny hairclips. Ichigo nodded.

"Yeah, we are..." Ichigo said shyly. Why was she so close to him?

"You want some candy?" she asked with bright violet eyes as she held up a clear plastic bag that held colorful star-shaped candies in it. Ichigo blinked at the bag before smiling.

"Uh, yes." he stood up and took a piece of candy from the bag and popped it in his mouth, giggling at the taste. "Thank-you. What kind of candy is this?" he asked as he chewed. The little girl also ate some herself.

"They are called Star Candies." she answered. "Each one is a different flavor. The red is cherry, the yellow is lemon, and the purple is grape." she pointed to each candies' color and told Ichigo the flavor. "And the orange is peach! The orange one is my favorite!" she finished. Ichigo smiled at her.

"I like them." he said. She giggled.

"My name is Rukia. What's yours?" she asked him. Ichigo blushed.

"I-Ichigo. My name is Ichigo Kurosaki." he answered, not looking at her face. Rukia giggled again.

"It's nice to meet you, Ichigo." she said.

"You know a lot of colors." Ichigo said. Rukia nodded proudly.

"Yep! My sister taught them to me." she said. Ichigo's eyes went wide.

"You have a sister?" he asked. Rukia nodded once more. "My mom is going to be having twin sisters soon. What's it like having a sister?" he asked. Rukia thought as she ate another piece of candy.

"Well, my older sister is really nice and likes to play and reads me stories and tucks me into bed. But my sister is older than me." Rukia said. Ichigo frowned. He was the oldest child. No way will his baby sisters be able to do that for him when they're born. "Hey! Did you get a gold star yet?" Rukia suddenly asked. Ichigo looked at her perplexed.

"A... gold star?" he repeated.

"Yeah! The teacher gave us all a gold star to right our names on to hang on the front of the door." Rukia said. So that's why there were so many stars on the front door.

"No, I hope I get one." Ichigo said anxiously.

"Don't worry, you will! The teacher says all the students get one." Rukia said. Ichigo smiled. His mother was right. He did make a new friend. A girl friend.

The teacher at the front desk rang a big bell that gained all the kids' attention and they all scurried towards her. Rukia took Ichigo's hand and pulled him along towards the teacher.

"Class is starting! Come on!" she said and Ichigo had no other choice but to follow her lead. He was going to like this place after all.

* * *

After a couple of weeks, Ichigo was all too happy to walk to school with his mom. He loved telling her stories of he and Rukia and the things he learned and the games he played. Masaki listened each day with a smile. Seeing her little boy so happy at school made her happy as well.

"Today Rukia and I are going to play on the seesaw when recess starts because everyone else always gets on it before we do." Ichigo babbled on. "She brings me Star Candies everyday. She likes the peach one and I like the strawberry one!" he continued. Masaki giggled.

"It sounds like this Rukia girl is your best friend." Masaki said. Ichigo nodded.

"Yeah! But I have other friends, too. Like Tatsuki, and Orihime, and a quiet kid named Chad. He's shy, but he likes to play tag. Keigo is silly and falls a lot. That's why he has so many band-aids on." Ichigo grinned. Masaki chuckled.

"Well I'm glad you've made so many friends. Friends are important, you know." Masaki said.

"Will my baby sisters be my friends?" Ichigo asked. "Rukia has a sister, and she says she's her best friend, too."

"Of course they'll be your friends." Masaki said. "They'll be more than friends. They'll be your family." she smiled at him and Ichigo smiled back.

"Good! Because I can't wait to be a big brother!" Ichigo yelled. Masaki laughed. He was just like his father.

Ichigo reached the doors of his kindergarten and waved good-bye to his mother and eagerly entered the room. He put his bookbag and lunch box into his bucket his teacher assigned him and took his seat next to Tatsuki.

"Hi, Ichigo." she greeted. Ichigo grinned at her.

"Hi, Tatsuki." he said as he looked across to the other table where Rukia's empty seat was. He gave a perplexed look. "Huh? Where's Rukia? She's always here before everybody else." Ichigo wondered.

"You didn't know?" Keigo said next to him. Ichigo looked at him.

"Know what?"

"Rukia moved away last night." Keigo said. Ichigo felt his heart thump hard in his chest.

"Wh-what?" he stuttered in disbelief. Tatsuki frowned.

"Yeah. Her sister got married and they had to move." Tatsuki said. Ichigo looked down to his feet, trying his hardest not to cry. His very first friend was gone. She was gone forever.

"She's not coming back...?" he mumbled. His two friends didn't answer. And he was really hoping to share some of his Star Candy with her.

* * *

Freedom.

Pure, fresh, freedom.

It never felt so good...

"Well..." Ichigo sighed as he put his head back against the seat of the bus he was riding. "I just finished college, now what?" the 25-year-old huffed and looked out the window. Ichigo Kurosaki, survived years of schooling, stupid kids, dumb friends, and crazy family. As well as the death of his mother. He was six-foot tall, muscular, yet thin, and what he likes to call himself, "A decent karate master". Now he was wondering what he was going to do with his life for the rest of his years. He wasn't particularly looking to settle down just yet, but he didn't want to be alone forever.

The bus came to a stop, but he knew it wasn't his. He was still miles from home.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Excuse me." he heard.

"Watch it, shrimp." the deeper man voice caught Ichigo's attention. Some big brute towered over a young woman with short black hair whose arms were packed with a laptop and a tote bag. It looks like she tripped over his leg which was rudely outstretched in the isle.

"I said I was sorry." she glared. He spit in her direction. "Disgusting!" Ichigo glared at the man. What a pig. A poor excuse for a man.

"Next time I won't miss. Now get away from me." the man turned his head away from her as she moved to the back of the bus. Ichigo looked behind him. The bus was full, the only open seat being the one to his right. He knew she wouldn't be able to hold onto the bars on the ceiling. Her arms were full and she was... pretty damn short.

As she made her way past him, she sighed at all the seats taken.

"Here," Ichigo said as he stood up and gestured for her to sit down. She smiled gratefully at him.

"Thank-you." she said and took the seat next to his. Ichigo sat back down and looked forward as the bus finally moved along. "Finally, a decent man in this town." she said beside him. Ichigo glanced over to her.

"Well, we're not all bad." Ichigo said, then glared at the man in the front of the bus. "But others can't be spoken for..."

"Well, thank-you again." she smiled. He smiled back at her.

"No problem, really." he said.

"I'm not used to taking the city bus." she said as she put her laptop into the tote bag she was lugging around. "Usually my brother drives me around, but he's out of town for a while so I have to make do with public transportation."

"Yeah," he sighed. "It takes a bit of getting used to. Not everyone is always nice."

"Yeah, I've learned." she said as she gazed out the window. Things were quiet for the bus ride. Each individual got off on their stops until Ichigo and the woman sitting next to him were left. It was a little awkward considering it was just them. But Ichigo figured since his stop was coming up soon, it would be a pleasant good-bye and he'd probably never see her-

"Would you like some candy?" the question from her caught him off guard as he whipped his head towards her.

"What?"

She presented a small brown paper bag to him. "I have candy and I can't eat it all. Would you like some?" she asked. Ichigo smiled.

"Yeah, sure. Thank-you." Ichigo reached into the bag and pulled out a small pink star-shaped candy. He smiled. "I haven't had these things since I was little." he said. He went to toss the candy in his mouth when a sudden realization hit.

"Yeah," the woman said next to him as she pulled out an orange-colored star. "The peach-flavored one is my favorite." she said. Ichigo's eyes nearly popped out of his skull. He turned to the woman, mouth agape and eyes wide.

"Rukia!" he yelled in her ear. The woman grimaced and put her pinky in her ear.

"Ow! That hurt!" she yelled at him. "What are doing yelling at me like-" she paused and blinked at him. "You... you know my name? How do you know my name? I didn't even tell you-"

"Rukia Kuchiki!" Ichigo said. "You were in my kindergarten class!" he yelled. Rukia sat there, looking at Ichigo like he was a nut.

"And you are...?" she arched an eyebrow at him.

"I'm Ichigo! Ichigo Kurosaki! The same kid you said hello to on the first day of school. The same kid who you gave Star Candy to!" he held up the pink Star Candy. "You said you always liked the peach ones and I liked the strawberry ones. Remember how everyday we'd play on the seesaw?" he asked. Rukia's eyes went wide this time.

"Oh my God... it really is you!" she smiled. Ichigo grinned and nodded like an idiot. "You're still here in the same old Karakura town?" she asked.

"Yeah! I've been living here ever since I was a baby. But I thought you moved." Ichigo said. Rukia nodded, then frowned.

"I did, but..." she looked away. Ichigo tilted his head. Did he say something wrong? "My sister developed cancer and passed away a while ago." she said sadly. "So my brother and I moved back here." Ichigo frowned and looked down.

"I'm sorry... I know how much your sister meant to you." Ichigo apologized. "My mother passed away just before I reached junior high." Ichigo said. Rukia gasped.

"Oh, Ichigo... I'm so sorry." she put a hand to his back. Ichigo looked at her with a smile.

"It's all right." he smiled at her. "I'm just glad I've met you again." Rukia smiled again too.

"It's quite a surprise, isn't it?" she said. Ichigo looked back down to the floor as a blush slowly crept upon his face.

"I'm really glad. Ive... missed you." he admitted. Rukia blushed this time.

"O-oh?" she looked the other way. "Well I've... missed you, too, Ichigo." she admitted. Ichigo smiled.

"I thought my world was ending when you left, because... I didn't have my best friend with me anymore to greet me every morning with Star Candy." he twirled the candy in his fingers. "I missed eating one every morning. I wouldn't even look at them in the stores after you left." Rukia laughed at him.

"Aw, you're so sweet." she said as she looked back at him. Ichigo rubbed the back of his head nervously. "You're not that shy little boy I knew way back anymore." Rukia said. Ichigo smirked at her.

"And you're not that gap-toothed toddler I remember falling head-over-heels for back in elementary school." Ichigo retorted. She huffed at him. The bus came to a stop and Rukia stood up.

"It's my stop," she said and Ichigo stood up as well.

"I'll walk you home." he said. They exited the bus and walked away as it drove off. It was getting late. The sun was setting, but that didn't bother Ichigo as he walked Rukia to her apartment.

"You didn't need to do this. It's getting late and you still live quite a distance away." Rukia said. Ichigo shook his head.

"I don't mind. I have a bus pass. I'll be okay." he insisted. Rukia sighed and smiled at him. He loved seeing her smile. He almost saw that little girl he first met over twenty years ago. Except, this little girl... was a lot more attractive.

"You know, Ichigo," Rukia spoke as she looked down the street, a dreamy smile on her face. "I think I have a new favorite flavor candy." she said. Ichigo gave her a curious look. "I'm starting to really like the strawberry." she glanced over to him. He flinched at this, but returned her playful gaze.

"And I think I'm starting to acquire a taste for the peach ones myself." he replied. They both laughed as they finished the rest of the walk to Rukia's home. All the while, Ichigo remembered what his mother once said to him. How important friends are. Because despite the time lapse, they could still come back around, and possibly become even more than a friend.

* * *

**I REALLY enjoyed making this story! Little Ichigo is just so cute! I wonder if Star Candy actually exists somewhere... oh well. Thanks for reading! Please review!**


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